Champignons à la Niçoise

It is still customary in many regions of France to serve a selection of cold hors-d’oeuvre dishes at the start of a meal. None of the dishes is large but they are all interesting and delicious – some black olives perhaps, and a handful of freshly pulled radishes eaten with sweet butter and crusty bread. There might be a dish of tiny sardines in olive oil, or, in Nice and thereabouts, cultivated mushrooms (champignons de Paris) prepared this way with white wine, tomatoes and tarragon.